Comments on: I hate the Jerusalem Post.

By: Ben Gong

Ben Gong — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 06:17:14 +0000

the jpost sucks, some of the artcles makes me wanna slice my lappy in half.

By: Eythan

Eythan — Fri, 05 May 2006 20:18:45 +0000

I hate Haaretz,Jpost may not be the best newspaper in the world but it is certainly better that the palestinian newspaper Haaretz.
Tip for the reader of Haaretz :Learn Arab and buy Al-Hayat

By: Roi

Roi — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 16:46:45 +0000

i am a native israeli, although i read the IHT (to practice my english, which is in my opinion could be better).
i’m not familier with the Jpost, and i don’t agree with the writer on most of the things he wrote there, but one thing is certain (which i agree with the writer on), the level of the english spoken in israel (and even by me), is not good enough.
the only way to practice a language is the speak, when you don’t have anyone to speak to you simply have a tool that you don’t know how to use.

btw, i have to say, very good site !

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 16:09:54 +0000

Irit Linor’s novels are great to read if your Hebrew isn’t advanced. They are almost all dialogue.

By: ofri

ofri — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:12:08 +0000

do you mean Ram Oren? yea, he definitely writes John Grisham type novels, but whether or not that’s a positive is open to interpretation. Jobber does have a point though, reading fiction is a great way to practice your Hebrew and get a feel for the vernacular. Personally I like David Grossman.

By: Jobber

Jobber — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 13:36:28 +0000

I finally read a book written in Hebrew a few years ago, it was an awesome exp. I had never done that, even tho I am fluent. I was inspired by a chick who bought a book in line at the airport Steimatzky. I asked her if it was a good book and she beamed and what not, so I bought one also. Some novel by Ram Evron I think, he is real popular. It was like a John Grisham type book.

I suspect many on this list have never tried that, it is worth the effort.

I do feel the JP has gotten worse over the years. but I hardly read the Hebrew papers either, too much crap. The Haaretz web site is easiest to download tho.

By: themiddle

themiddle — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 07:33:25 +0000

Ack!! What a waste!

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 06:36:07 +0000

Arieh O’Sullivan no longer works for the Jerusalem Post. He works for the ADL!

By: themiddle

themiddle — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 05:23:41 +0000

There’s also Arieh O’Sullivan. And David Horovitz.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 03:39:48 +0000

Ofri — that’s a pretty miserable standard indeed. Their late, unlamented website in English (www.maarivintl.com IIRC) made Jpost look like the NYT in comparison, but I’d hoped that their cash-strapped status (didn’t they have financial or legal issues at the time they did the site?) had something to do with it, rather than reflecting the paper in Hebrew.

Re the Post, it’s fine if your only exposure to Israeli news is the NYT or blurbs from your local Jewish monthly, but echoing of Daniel Pipes and heavily wire-service-driven stories aside, it has not nearly the reporting and in-depth analysis of the likes of Akiva Eldar, Amos Harel, and Lili Galili about the domestic political scene. However, I’ll spot the Post Khaled Abu Toameh over the Terrible Two (Hass and Levy).

Besides, the Underground website’s “street Hebrew” is a great resource for picking up slang to throw at Israelis you meet in the US and embellishing emerging language skills.

By: ofri

ofri — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:57:51 +0000

Stuart, Ma’ariv is even more of a rag than Jpost, if possible. It’s one sensational headline (accompanied by some horrid, cheesy graphic of cross-hairs or a bull’s eye) away from tabloid status. Yediot is somehow bearable. Politics aside, it’s no contest. Ha’aretz is the only newspaper in Israel with well-written content.

By: Ziva Lehava

Ziva Lehava — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:43:51 +0000

Whoops, I left out a town: I meant to say I enjoyed five towns radio (not four). I know that isn’t a major strain of the conversation, but listening to music can be so helpful (some songs slow down the words from the rapid-fire way they are normally said, so the listener can hear/understand them).

By: michael

michael — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:35:04 +0000

Oh, and wonk wonk fuckin’ wonk. I’m not asking her to be fluent in Hebrew at her oh-so-advanced, time-to-be-put-out-to-pasture age, I’m asking her to not deal with it by deflecting the issue to Israelis’ “inadequate” English. She’s having trouble? Big screaming deal, she can put post-it notes on the fridge that say “mekarer” like every other fucking oleh.

By: michael

michael — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:26:35 +0000

Oh, I read it through to the end. But it’s a bullshit point, seeing as Israelis speak English perfectly well. She tacked it on to justify her own refusal to attempt to learn Hebrew, and introduced the entire point by saying that their English when speaking to her was inadequate.

So yes, I can argue with that. She’s still a twit, no matter what higher purpose she attributes her refusal to try to learn Hebrew to.

By: Ziva Lehava

Ziva Lehava — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:21:58 +0000

Thanks for the mention of Reshet Gimmel–I’m loving it. I had been a fan of just straight CDs or four towns radio, but this is great (and yep, hearing something I recognize still makes me happy).

By: Sarah N

Sarah N — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:20:44 +0000

There is no pity party for the middle aged. Its just reality- the older a person gets, the harder it is to learn a second language.

You can’t compare trying to learn a new language at 5yrs old to a 25 yr old to a 55yr old.

By: David Nadav

David Nadav — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:17:17 +0000

You totally missed the point of the article- or maybe you just didn’t read through to the end.

“For Israel to continue to claim its place in the competitive global markets it needs to improve its English dramatically.”

She wasn’t saying everyone must learn English for her- but to better their place in the International Community.

Can you really argue against that?

By: michael

michael — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:00:09 +0000

You say “self-righteous” (well, actually, you said “self-rightous,” but whatever), I say “right.”

You’ll note, as I have said many times before, that it’s not her difficulty in learning Hebrew I take issue with. It’s that she refuses to try and instead demands that everyone around her learn to speak English better. That’s real self-righteousness.

I’m not going to bash any little Ethiopian ladies unless they publish self-centered, poorly written editorials in major newspapers demanding that Israelis start learning better Amharic to suit their needs.

And something tells me whether I offered to babysit her kids or not, that wouldn’t solve her healthy sense of entitlement, which is of course her real problem, not her age or her busy schedule. And you’re right, it doesn’t matter what country you’re in, it’s your responsibility as a citizen to learn the language, whether you’re in Chinatown or Little Italy or Kamchatka. Just because some little Italian mama 80 years ago in Little Italy never did learn how to speak English so well doesn’t mean this woman doesn’t richly deserve a good mocking. Because, oh Lord Almighty, she does.

By: ofri

ofri — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:58:28 +0000

what’s with this pity party for the middle aged? a person of the age of 50 is not old, for god’s sake, and it is no easier for a 20 year old to learn a new language than it is for a 50 year old. past the age of 12, it doesn’t matter how old you are. it’s really hard for some people, and somewhat easier for those who have a gift for languages. at any rate, Sarah, if anyone is self-righteous, it’s the idiot who wrote that piece. she’s proven her “Zionist credentials” by moving to a country and bitching about how backward it is on the basis that its citizens don’t rise to her level of English. If she is making the effort to learn Hebrew, good for her. After all, it’s only been a year and a half. She can’t expect to be fluent. It’s too bad that at the same time she feels it is necessary to make a total jackass of herself by boasting of her ignorance and passing it off as a reluctance to submit to Israeli nationalist fervor.

By: Sarah N

Sarah N — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:44:13 +0000

Michael, I think that you are totally self-rightous. You’ve been in Israel a few months, in school, young and with plenty of time.

You don’t work full time and have kids while you are trying to learn Hebrew.

She’s in her 50′s for G-ds sake- and Kudos to Lisa’s friends mom (who could be real or just another urban legend) but anyone who learns a second language after middle age is in the minority. Most people, American, Russian, French or Morracan just stick with their own.

Are you going to start bashing the little old Ethiopian lady for not getting off her ass and learning hebrew- I mean really…

It doesn’t matter what country a person is in. Think of China town or little Italy in America.

Get off your soap box and offer to babysit her kids if it is really so important to you that she learns Hebrew.